Yes, the Proms are renowned for their party atmosphere, particularly on the Last Night, but that's from the audience. At the concert by the astonishing Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, it was the performers who let rip in what must have been the most joyful Proms performance ever.

The high jinks started at the end of the scheduled concert when they produced from nowhere jackets in the national colours to replace their immaculate suits. To cheering and stamping from the audience, they performed three increasingly wild encores.

They waved their instruments in unison, they stood up and sat down in time to the music, they performed Mexican waves, they threw their instruments in the air, spun their double basses and danced with each other. It was fiesta time.

Then they invaded the auditorium, and, as the last encore came to a raucous close, you realised the conductor had been replaced by one of the revellers. Finally, when the audience refused to stop clapping, the youngsters threw their multi-hued jackets into the crowd.

Yet that exuberant finale wasn't the most impressive part of the concert. The first half consisted of Shostakovich's Tenth Symphony - and the orchestra performed this powerful, harrowing work composed in the year of Stalin's death with just as much commitment and sheer musicality as they gave to the fabulous Latin American rhythms of Moncayo and Ginastera.

They may have swayed a little more than the average European musician, but their discipline and precision were total.

The reason for this small miracle is Venezuela's music education, known as El Sistema. Started in 1975 by the economist and musician José Antonio Abreu, it offers every willing child, no matter how poor, an instrument and free tuition. Currently, about 250,000 children take part.

The general manager of El Sistema, Javier Moreno, has said: "We're interested in creating citizens with all the values they need to exist in society - responsibility, teamwork, respect, cooperation and work ethic."

Put like that, it sounds slightly dull; the results, however, are anything but. At a cost of £15 million a year, the system has transformed the life chances of hundreds of children - some of them living on the streets - and has sparked a musical renaissance in the country.

One product of The System, double-bass player Edicson Ruiz, was snapped up at the age of 17 by Simon Rattle to bring swing to the Berlin Philharmonic. And another was the conductor on Sunday night, curly-headed 26-year-old Gustavo Dudamel, already appointed as chief conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Now there is talk of Scotland adopting a similar system. A pilot project is about to start in Stirling, and there are hopes it will take off and be adopted more widely.

The UK is certainly in dire need of better music education - if you are poor the chances of becoming a classical musician are virtually non-existent. Instruments and tuition must be paid for, and classical music is an apologetic after-thought in most music lessons at school.

Meanwhile, the good-looking young men and women of Venezuela are a shining example of what can be achieved. This week they are in Germany. Let's hope the Germans are in party mood.